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Usually, no. A digital game purchase normally gives your account a personal license, not a transferable copy that you can sell, move to another account, or lend. PlayStation, Microsoft and Steam terms generally restrict those actions. A narrow European Union rule can allow resale of some perpetual, downloaded computer-program licenses, but it does not create a general right to resell game accounts or every digital title.
What you are buying when you buy a digital game
A digital checkout can feel like buying a copy, but the legal product is usually an authorization recorded against an account. The platform or publisher retains copyright in the game and gives you permission to download and use it under stated conditions. Those conditions can cover the account holder, devices, region, duration, online services and whether anyone else may use the entitlement.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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GameStop Physical Gift Card | $25.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Xbox Physical Gift Card | $25 | $25.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Nintendo eShop Physical Gift Card | $100 | $100.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Fortnite Physical Gift Card | $30.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Nintendo eShop Physical Gift Card | $50 | $50.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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This distinction matters because ownership of a physical object and permission to use software are treated differently. With a disc or cartridge, you possess a particular tangible item that can usually be handed to another person, subject to any applicable law and the game’s online requirements. With a digital purchase, there is no separate object to hand over; the platform controls the account record that enables downloading and authentication.
A license may be described as perpetual, but “perpetual” normally means the permission has no scheduled end date. It does not automatically mean that the permission is assignable. A subscription or a temporary access promotion is even less likely to support resale because access ends when the subscription, promotion or account entitlement ends.
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What the major platform terms say
PlayStation: licensed, not assigned
PlayStation’s software terms state: “All Software is licensed, not assigned, which means you acquire rights to use the Software, as described in these Terms, but you do not acquire ownership of the Software.” The same terms say: “Your licence to use games is not transferrable unless your local applicable laws say it must be.” They also prohibit resale unless PlayStation has expressly authorized it.
Under those clauses, an ordinary digital game bought on a PlayStation account is not a product you can transfer to a different account. Giving someone your login is not the same as transferring the license, and it can expose the account to security action or loss. A local law that makes a license transferable could override the contractual default, but the exception must actually apply in your jurisdiction and to the transaction in question.
Microsoft and Xbox digital goods
Microsoft’s Usage Rules for Digital Goods take the same general approach. They say digital goods may be used only as expressly permitted by the applicable terms and that, except where an exception is provided, “you may not transfer or resell any licenses to any Digital Goods.” A Microsoft Store or Xbox entitlement therefore remains attached to the account and permissions defined by Microsoft’s current rules.
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Steam and other PC licenses
PC games are governed by the specific publisher and platform agreements attached to the title. One Steam-published EULA permits permanent transfer of an entire physical pre-recorded copy only when its stated conditions are met. The same agreement says virtual currency and virtual goods may not be transferred, sold, leased or rented unless expressly allowed. Another Steam EULA expressly prohibits renting, leasing or lending the software.
These clauses illustrate two separate issues: a physical copy can sometimes be transferred as an object, while a digital entitlement is normally a personal permission in an account. A game appearing in a Steam library does not by itself establish a right to export the license, detach it from the account or lend it to a friend.
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Can you sell a digital game?
For most storefront purchases, not under the standard terms. You generally cannot list an individual digital game key that is already redeemed, transfer the game from your account to a buyer’s account, or sell the account as a substitute. Selling an account is especially risky because the account contains more than one entitlement and the platform’s rules commonly require the account to remain personal.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsAn unused code is a different fact pattern from a redeemed license. If a platform or publisher issued a key specifically for transfer and its terms permit that transfer, the key may be sold or given away before redemption. Once redeemed, however, the resulting entitlement is normally governed by the account’s license terms. Check the exact promotion, regional restrictions and expiration rules rather than assuming that every code is transferable.
Refund systems do not create a secondary market. A refund returns the transaction under the store’s policy and removes access; it is not a way to assign your license to another person.
Can you move a game to another account?
Platforms generally do not provide a self-service way to detach a redeemed game and attach it to a different account. Downloading the same files on another console or computer does not change who holds the license. The new device must still authenticate against the account that owns the entitlement, unless the platform’s own sharing feature authorizes access.
Contacting support can help with an account-recovery or accidental-purchase problem, but support assistance should not be treated as a guaranteed transfer service. Ask specifically whether the platform permits an entitlement transfer in your country and for that title; do not assume that moving an account’s email address or changing its name changes ownership.
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Account sharing is not a sale
Sharing credentials to let a friend download or play a game leaves the original account in control and may violate the personal-use, security or anti-sharing provisions in the terms. It can also trigger practical problems:
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- The account owner can lose access after a password or payment dispute.
- Changing the console’s primary or authorized-device setting can revoke another person’s access.
- Save data, trophies, purchases and parental controls remain associated with the original account.
- Online play may require a separate subscription or may stop when the account is suspended.
Use only an official family, console-sharing or household feature when the platform offers one, and follow its device and household limits. Those features grant limited use; they do not authorize resale or permanent assignment.
Can you lend a digital game to a friend?
A loan implies that the borrower gets temporary possession and that the lender can reclaim the same copy. Digital platforms usually do not implement that model for purchased games. The license remains associated with the purchaser’s account, and the terms may expressly prohibit lending, renting or leasing.
Where an official sharing feature exists, it may allow another profile on an approved device to run an eligible game while the account holder meets specified conditions. That is a platform-controlled access feature, not a general lending right. It may stop working when the owner plays elsewhere, removes the device, loses connectivity or changes account settings.
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The EU UsedSoft rule: a narrow resale possibility
The Court of Justice of the European Union’s decision in UsedSoft GmbH v Oracle (C-128/11, 3 July 2012) recognized that, under EU copyright-exhaustion principles, a downloaded computer-program copy supplied with an unlimited user license can in some circumstances be treated as a first sale. A lawful acquirer may then be able to resell that license.
The ruling is conditional. The original acquirer must stop using the copy when it is sold, making the copy unusable for the seller. The seller cannot keep a working installation while transferring the supposed license to a buyer. The buyer must acquire the right to use the program lawfully and comply with the conditions that apply to that transaction.
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Conditions that must be checked
- Jurisdiction: The EU copyright framework must apply; rules elsewhere can differ.
- Perpetual term: The transaction must concern an unlimited or effectively perpetual license, not a subscription or time-limited access period.
- Downloaded program copy: The facts must fit the kind of computer-program copy addressed by the ruling.
- No retained usable copy: The original buyer must cease using the copy after resale.
- Contract and technical limits: The platform must be capable of recognizing the lawful acquirer, or the parties must be able to complete the transfer without violating other mandatory rules.
A later EU judgment emphasized that exhaustion does not erase the copyright holder’s reproduction right and that the seller cannot retain a usable copy. The doctrine concerns copyright treatment of certain computer programs; it does not require every game platform to build an account-transfer button, and it does not automatically cover every game, downloadable add-on, virtual item or online service.
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Why UsedSoft does not automatically make game resale easy
Many games depend on continuing online services, separate server access, anti-cheat systems, subscriptions, patches, user accounts or third-party components. A court’s analysis of a perpetual software license therefore may not resolve whether a particular game entitlement can be separated from an account or whether online functionality can follow a buyer. A digital game may also include music, video, trademarks and service components beyond the computer-program element considered in UsedSoft.
If you are relying on EU law, obtain advice specific to your country and the exact license. Verify the term, the original transaction, the game’s components and how the buyer would receive lawful access. Do not infer a blanket right from the existence of the UsedSoft decision.
Digital license, downloaded copy and physical media: compare the thing being transferred
| What changes hands | Typical legal position | Main practical obstacle |
|---|---|---|
| Account entitlement | Personal, platform-controlled license; transfer or resale usually prohibited unless expressly authorized or required by law. | The platform may not offer any way to unlink and reassign it. |
| Downloaded program copy with a perpetual license | Potentially affected by the EU UsedSoft doctrine when all conditions are met. | The seller must stop using the copy, and the doctrine does not automatically cover account services or every game component. |
| Physical disc or cartridge | A tangible item can generally be handed to another person, subject to the title’s terms and local law. | Online activation, one-time codes, region locks or discontinued servers may prevent full functionality. |
| Subscription or temporary access | Access ends or changes under the subscription or promotion terms; resale is ordinarily unavailable. | There is no perpetual license to transfer. |
The presence of a download does not by itself place a transaction in the physical-media category. What matters is the legal and technical structure of the entitlement, not whether the files occupy storage on your device.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical checklist before you attempt any transfer
- Identify the entitlement. Record the storefront, account, title, edition, region and purchase date. Separate the base game from season passes, downloadable content, virtual currency and subscriptions.
- Read the current terms. Look for clauses labeled license, assignment, transfer, resale, lending, renting, account use and digital goods. Check the game’s publisher EULA as well as the platform terms.
- Check the duration. Determine whether the right is perpetual, subscription-based, promotional or conditional on an online service.
- Check your jurisdiction. Mandatory local law can change the result, but only within its scope. EU residency alone does not answer every question about a non-EU transaction or a service component.
- Ask how access would technically move. A buyer needs a lawful account entitlement, activation method and any required online-service access. A copied folder or changed email address is not proof of transfer.
- Get a written answer. If the platform claims a transfer is allowed, ask support to identify the applicable policy and the exact steps before accepting payment.
- Protect the account. Do not disclose passwords, recovery codes or payment information. If no authorized path exists, do not use an account sale or credential-sharing workaround.
Common situations and the safest answer
“I finished the game and want to sell it.”
For a redeemed digital purchase, assume no unless the platform’s current terms expressly allow resale or mandatory local law supplies a qualifying exception. A physical disc or cartridge is a separate analysis.
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Use the store’s refund or customer-support process. Do not transfer credentials to correct the mistake; that can create a second violation and make recovery harder.
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“My friend wants to try it for a weekend.”
Use an official trial, demo or supported sharing feature if available. Informal lending through your login is not a reliable or generally authorized substitute.
“I am in the EU, so I can resell any download.”
No. UsedSoft is a fact-specific rule for certain perpetual computer-program licenses and requires the seller to stop using the copy. It does not automatically cover subscriptions, virtual goods, account services or every modern game package.
What happens if a platform rejects the transfer?
The platform may decline to move the entitlement, invalidate a code, suspend an account or leave the buyer without online functionality. A private sale contract cannot force a platform to recognize an account that its terms reserve for the original user. If money has changed hands, the dispute may become a consumer or contract matter between buyer and seller, separate from the platform’s license decision.
Keep the purchase receipt, the applicable terms shown at checkout and any written support response. Those records help distinguish an authorized transfer, a refundable transaction and an unauthorized account sale. Where a mandatory-law argument is substantial, consult a qualified lawyer or consumer-protection authority in the relevant jurisdiction before completing the transaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting a digital game from my console cancel the license?
No. Deleting local files normally removes the installation, not the account entitlement. The license remains governed by the platform and game terms.
Can I sell downloadable content or virtual currency separately?
Usually not. Virtual goods and currency commonly have separate non-transfer clauses, and downloadable content may be tied to the same account as the base game.
If I change my account email, has the game been transferred?
Changing contact details does not itself assign the license. The platform’s account and transfer rules determine who is authorized to use it.
Can a buyer use a physical disc without the seller’s account?
Often the disc can be used as the required physical copy, but online activation, one-time codes, region restrictions and server access can impose additional limits.
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